MCU14/0056 - Attachment I -Environmental Report

               environmental management
             ecological assessment report



4. Ecological Assessment
4.1.       Introduction
A Senior Ecologist from Saunders Havill Group assessed the application site on the 11th March 2014. Weather
conditions were fine and sunny, with rain recorded within the previous 24 hours. The entire allotment was walked
to ensure all vegetation communities and species were recorded and identified. Particular attention was paid to
any threatened flora and fauna species that were listed as possibly occurring on or within the vicinity of the
application site and specific micro assemblages which may support these threatened species.


4.2. Flora Field Observations
The following observations have been made based on field survey:

    •    A Protected Matters Search generated under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
         1999 (EPBC Act) identified 1 listed Threatened Ecological Community that may occur in the area - Lowland
         Rainforest of Subtropical Australia. This ecological community was not observed on- site. In addition, none
         of the 21 EPBC Act protected plant species identified as having potential to occur across the site were
         observed.
    •    A search using the Queensland Government Wildlife Online search tool identified 21 listed plants
         protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld) as having potential to occur across the site. None
         of these species were observed on- site.
    •    A tree plot and schedule located two hundred and nineteen (219) individual specimens along the
         northern and western property boundaries as well as along the western edge of the mapped waterway
         (see Appendix G for schedule). The ecologically dominant layer throughout the waterway zone was also
         recorded.

              o   Twenty one (21) species were recorded within the tree plot survey, of which eighteen (18)
                  species are locally native to the Cooroy area. The remaining three (3) have been introduced.
                  Although the tree plot only recorded a small number of Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor
                  Laurel) and Pinus Elliot (Slash Pine), these species dominated the road reserve and parts of the
                  vegetation observed within the mapped waterway.
              o   The majority of trees recorded are located outside the northern property boundary and Ferrells
                  Road, and along the edge of the north-eastern boundary along Myall Street. The dominant
                  species observed was Pinus Elliot (Slash Pine).
              o   A number of habitat trees containing hollows and bird nests were recorded throughout
                  vegetation along the property boundaries. While the majority of these habitat trees were dead,
                  relatively large Eucalyptus grandis (Flooded Gum) and Corymbia intermedia (Pink Bloodwood)
                  habitat trees were recorded.
              o   Eighty eight (88) flora species were identified over the application site. Of these species, forty
                  eight (48) are native to the Cooroy area and the remaining forty (40) are introduced species. A
                  large portion of these species were identified within the mapped waterway.

A species list of all flora recorded on site is included in Table 3.


   saunders havill group                                  Page 24